In 1892,[2]Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly newspaper in the United States, sponsored by Kristoffer Wright;[3] the first issue was published on December 17 of that year, with a cover price of 10 cents (equivalent to $2.62 in 2015).[4] Turnure's intention was to create a publication that celebrated the "ceremonial side of life"; one that "attracts the sage as well as debutante, men of affairs as well as the belle."[4] From its inception, the magazine targeted the new New York aristocracy, establishing social norms in a country that did not value class and ceremony as much as England or France. The magazine at this time was primarily concerned with fashion, with coverage of sports and social affairs included for its male readership.[4]

Condé Montrose Nast bought Vogue in 1905 one year before Turnure's death and gradually grew the publication. He changed it to a bi-weekly magazine and also started Vogue overseas in the 1910s. After first visiting Britain in 1916, he started Vogue there, followed by Vogue in Spain, and then Vogue in Italy and Vogue in France in 1920, where the magazine was well received. The magazine's number of publications and profit increased dramatically under Nast's management. By 1911, the Vogue brand had garnered a reputation that it continues to maintain, targeting an elite audience and expanding into the coverage of weddings.

In 1973, Vogue became a monthly publication.[9] Under editor-in-chief Grace Mirabella, the magazine underwent extensive editorial and stylistic changes to respond to changes in the lifestyles of its target audience.[10]

Anna Wintour became editor-in-chief of American Vogue in July 1988.[11] Noted for her trademark bob cut and sunglasses, Wintour sought to revitalize the brand by making it younger and more approachable;[12] she directed the focus towards new and accessible concepts of "fashion" for a wider audience.[13] Wintour's influence allowed the magazine to maintain its high circulation, while staff discovered new trends that a broader audience could conceivably afford.[13] For example, the inaugural cover of the magazine under Wintour's editorship featured a three-quarter-length photograph of Michaela Bercu, an Israeli super model, wearing a bejeweled Christian Lacroix jacket and a pair of jeans, a departure from her predecessors' tendency to portray a woman's face alone; according to the Times, this gave "greater importance to both her clothing and her body".[14] As fashion editor, Grace Coddington wrote in her memoirs, the cover "endorsed a democratic new high/low attitude to dressing, added some youthful but sophisticated raciness, and garnished it with a dash of confident energy and drive that implied getting somewhere fast. It was quintessential Anna."[12] Wintour continues to be American Vogue‍ '​s editor-in-chief to this day.

The contrast of Wintour's vision with that of her predecessors was noted as striking by observers, both critics and defenders. Amanda Fortini, fashion and style contributor for Slate, argues that her policy has been beneficial for Vogue:[15]

When Wintour was appointed head of Vogue, Grace Mirabella had been editor in chief for 17 years, and the magazine had grown complacent, coasting along in what one journalist derisively called "its beige years". Beige was the color Mirabella had used to paint over the red walls in Diana Vreeland's office, and the metaphor was apt: The magazine had become boring. Among Condé Nast executives, there was worry that the grand dame of fashion publications was losing ground to upstart Elle, which in just three years had reached a paid circulation of 851,000 to Vogue 's stagnant 1.2 million. And so Condé Nast publisher Si Newhouse brought in the 38-year-old Wintour, who through editor-in-chief positions at British Vogue and House & Garden, had become known not only for her cutting-edge visual sense, but also for her ability to radically revamp a magazine to shake things up.

As of March 2014, only five men have been featured on the cover of the American edition:[16][17][18]

May 2013, marked the one-year anniversary of a healthy body initiative that was signed by the magazine's international editors—the initiative represents a commitment from the editors to promote positive body images within the content of Vogue's numerous editions. Australian editor Edwina McCann explained:

In the magazine we're moving away from those very young, very thin girls. A year down the track, we ask ourselves what can Vogue do about it? And an issue like this [June 2013 issue] is what we can do about it. If I was aware of a girl being ill on a photo shoot I wouldn't allow that shoot to go ahead, or if a girl had an eating disorder I would not shoot her.[19]

The Australian edition's June 2013 issue was entitled the "Body Issue" and featured articles on exercise and nutrition, as well as a diverse range of models. New York-based Australian plus-size model Robyn Lawley, previously featured on the cover of Vogue Italia, also appeared in a swimwear shoot for the June issue.[19]

The name Vogue means "style" in French. Vogue was described by book critic Caroline Weber in a December 2006 edition of The New York Times as "the world's most influential fashion magazine":[14] The publication claims to reach 11 million readers in the US and 12.5 million internationally.[20][21] Furthermore, Wintour was described as one of the most powerful figures in fashion.[22]

Wintour's "Fashion Night" initiative was launched in 2009 with the intention of kickstarting the economy following the Financial collapse of 2007–2008, by drawing people back into the retail environment and donating proceeds to various charitable causes. The event was co-hosted by Vogue in 27 cities around the US and 15 countries worldwide, and included online retailers at the beginning of 2011.[24] Debate occurred over the actual profitability of the event in the US, resulting in a potentially permanent hiatus in 2013; however, the event continues in 19 other locations internationally.[25]

In 2006 Vogue acknowledged salient political and cultural issues by featuring the burqa, as well as articles on prominent Muslim women, their approach to fashion, and the effect of different cultures on fashion and women’s lives.[26]Vogue also sponsored the "Beauty Without Borders" initiative with a US$25,000 donation that was used to establish a cosmetology school for Afghan women. Wintour stated: "Through the school, we could not only help women in Afghanistan to look and feel better but also give them employment." A documentary by Liz Mermin, entitled The Beauty Academy of Kabul, which highlighted the proliferation of Western standards of beauty, criticized the school, suggesting that "the beauty school could not be judged a success if it did not create a demand for American cosmetics."[27]

Leading up to the 2012 US Presidential election, Wintour used her industry clout to host several significant fundraising events in support of the Obama campaign. The first, in 2010, was a dinner with an estimated US$30,000 entry fee.[28] The "Runway To Win" initiative recruited prominent designers to create pieces to support the campaign.[29]

The Met Ball is an annual event that is hosted by Vogue magazine to celebrate the opening of the Metropolitan Museum's fashion exhibit. The Met Ball is the most coveted event of the year in fashion that is attended by A-list celebrities, politicians, designers and fashion editors. Vogue has hosted the themed event since 1971 under Editor in Chief, Diana Vreeland. In 2013, Vogue released a special edition of Vogue entitled Vogue Special Edition: The Definitive Inside Look at the 2013 Met Gala.[30]

As Wintour came to personify the magazine's image, both she and Vogue drew critics. Wintour's one-time assistant at the magazine, Lauren Weisberger, wrote a roman à clef entitled The Devil Wears Prada. Published in 2003, the novel became a bestseller and was adapted as a highly successful, Academy Award-nominated film in 2006. The central character resembled Weisberger, and her boss was a powerful editor-in-chief of a fictionalized version of Vogue. The novel portrays a magazine ruled by "the Antichrist and her coterie of fashionistas, who exist on cigarettes, Diet Dr Pepper, and mixed green salads", according to a review in The New York Times. The editor is described by Weisberger as being "an empty, shallow, bitter woman who has tons and tons of gorgeous clothes and not much else".[31] The success of both the novel and the film brought new attention from a wide global audience to the power and glamour of the magazine, and the industry it continues to lead.[32]

In 2007, Vogue drew criticism from the anti-smoking group, "Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids", for carrying tobacco advertisements in the magazine. The group claims that volunteers sent the magazine more than 8,000 protest emails or faxes regarding the ads. The group also claimed that in response, they received scribbled notes faxed back on letters that had been addressed to Wintour stating, "Will you stop? You're killing trees!"[33] In response, a spokesperson for Condé Nast released an official statement: "Vogue does carry tobacco advertising. Beyond that we have no further comment."[33]

In April 2008, American Vogue featured a cover photo by photographer Annie Leibovitz of supermodel Gisele Bündchen and the basketball superstar LeBron James. This was the third time that Vogue featured a male on the cover of the American issue (the other two men were actors George Clooney and Richard Gere), and the first in which the man was black. Some observers criticized the cover as a prejudicial depiction of James because his pose with Bündchen was reminiscent of a poster for the film King Kong.[34] Further criticism arose when the website Watching the Watchers analyzed the photo alongside the World War I recruitment poster titled Destroy This Mad Brute.[35] James reportedly however liked the cover shoot.

In 2009, the feature-length documentary The September Issue was released; it was an inside view of the production of the record-breaking September 2007 issue of U.S. Vogue, directed by R. J. Cutler. The film was shot over eight months as Wintour prepared the issue, and included testy exchanges between Wintour and her creative director Grace Coddington. The issue became the largest ever published at the time; over 5 pounds in weight and 840 pages in length, a world record for a monthly magazine [41] Since then, that record has been broken by Vogue's 2012 September issue, which came in at 916 pages.[42]

Also in 2012, HBO released a documentary entitled In Vogue: The Editor's Eye, in conjunction with the 120th anniversary of the magazine. Drawing on Vogue‍ '​s extensive archives, the film featured behind-the-scenes interviews with longtime Vogue editors, including Wintour, Coddington, Tonne Goodman, Hamish Bowles and Phyllis Posnick. Celebrated subjects and designers in the fashion industry, such as Nicole Kidman, Sarah Jessica Parker, Vera Wang, and Marc Jacobs, also appear in the film. The editors share personal stories about collaborating with top photographers, such as Leibowitz, and the various day-to-day responsibilities and interactions of a fashion editor at Vogue. The film was directed and produced by Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato. In October 2012, Vogue also released a book titled Vogue: The Editor's Eye to complement the documentary.[43]

Books published by Vogue include In Vogue: An Illustrated History of the World's Most Famous Fashion Magazine, Vogue: The Covers, Vogue: The Editor's Eye, Vogue Living: House, Gardens, People, The World in Vogue, Vogue Weddings: Brides, Dresses, Designers, and Nostalgia in Vogue.[45]

Launched in 2011 by Condé Nast Digital, Voguepedia is a fashion encyclopedia that also includes an archive of every issue of Vogue‍ '​s American edition since 1892.[46] Only Vogue staff are permitted to contribute to the encyclopedia, unlike the VogueEncyclo—hosted by Vogue Italia—that receives contributions from anyone.[47] As of 9 May 2013, the site is not fully functional, as code still shows in search results and only certain search terms yield results.[48]

In 2005, Condé Nast launched Men's Vogue and announced plans for an American version of Vogue Living that launched in 2006 (an Australian edition already existed at the time).[citation needed]Men's Vogue ceased publication as an independent publication in October 2008 and is now a twice-yearly extract in the main edition.[citation needed]

Condé Nast also publishes Teen Vogue,[49] a version of the magazine for teenage girls in the United States. South Korea and Australia publish a Vogue Girl magazine (currently suspended from further publication), in addition to the Vogue Living and Vogue Entertaining + Travel editions.

Vogue Hommes International is an international men's fashion magazine based in Paris, France, and L'uomo Vogue is the Italian men's version.[50] Other Italian versions of Vogue include Vogue Casa and Bambini Vogue.

Until 1961, Vogue was also the publisher of Vogue Patterns, a home sewing pattern company. It was sold to Butterick Publishing which also licensed the Vogue name. Vogue China was launched in September 2005, with Australian supermodel Gemma Ward on the cover flanked by Chinese models. In 2007, an Arabic edition of Vogue was rejected by Condé Nast International. October 2007 saw the launch of Vogue India, and Vogue Turkey was launched in March 2010.

^Laird Borrelli (2000). Fashion Illustration Now (illustrated, reprint ed.). Thames and Hudson. ISBN9780500282342. Fashion Illustration has gone from being one of the sole means of fashion communication to having a very minor role. The first photographic cover of Vogue was a watershed in the history of fashion illustration and a watershed mark of its decline. Photographs, no matter how altered or retouched, will always have some association with reality and by association truth. I like to think of them [fashion Illustrations] as prose poems and having more fictional narratives. They are more obviously filtered through an individual vision than photos. Illustration lives on, but in the position of a poor relative to the fashion.